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Promising Practices

The Promising Practices database informs professionals and community members about documented approaches to improving community health and quality of life.

The ultimate goal is to support the systematic adoption, implementation, and evaluation of successful programs, practices, and policy changes. The database provides carefully reviewed, documented, and ranked practices that range from good ideas to evidence-based practices.
Learn more about the ranking methodology.

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Project Health Education Awareness Research Team (HEART) (El Paso, TX)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Heart Disease & Stroke, Adults, Women, Men, Racial/Ethnic Minorities, Urban

Goal: The objective of Project HEART (Health Education Awareness Research Team) was to promote behavior changes to decrease cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in a high-risk Hispanic border population.

Project QUEST (San Antonio, TX)

Filed under Effective Practice, Education, Adults, Urban

Goal: Project QUEST strengthens the economy and transforms lives by preparing individuals for in-demand, living wage careers.

Promotores de Salud (community health workers) (Georgia)

Filed under Effective Practice, Health / Health Care Access & Quality, Adults, Women, Older Adults, Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Goal: The goal of Promotores de Salud is to improve the delivery of healthcare to under-served Latinos by using trained community members (Promotores) to bridge the gap between Latinos and healthcare providers.

Seniors Preparing for Rainbow Years (SPRY) (Houston, TX)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Older Adults, Older Adults

Goal: The Seniors Preparing for Rainbow Years program was established to enhance the lives of LGBT persons age 60 and older.

Starting Right Initiative

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Physical Activity, Children, Families

Goal: The Starting Right Initiative works to prevent, treat and reverse childhood obesity and malnutrition in low-income communities.

Impact: The Starting Right Initiative aims to encourage healthy eating habits in children and their families and works to reduce childhood obesity and malnutrition at seven project locations nationwide.

Sustainable Skylines Kansas City (Kansas City)

Filed under Good Idea, Environmental Health / Air, Urban

Goal: The goal of the Sustainable Skylines Initiative (SSI) is to achieve measurable emissions reductions and promote sustainability in urban environments within three years of implementation.

Targeted Tuberculosis Screening in Tarrant County (Tarrant County, TX)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Immunizations & Infectious Diseases

Goal: The goal of this program is to prevent the spread of tuberculosis among the homeless population.

Tarrant County WIC/Library Plan (Tarrant County, TX)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Children's Health, Women

Goal: The goals of the Library plan are to promote early literacy, parent/child bonding, and breastfeeding education in the community.

The 3C Model in Smoking Prevention (Houston, TX)

Filed under Good Idea, Health / Alcohol & Drug Use

Goal: The goal of this program is to maximize the impact of anti-tobacco education by combining resources across the campus, church, and community.

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center (Austin, TX)

Filed under Good Idea, Environmental Health / Built Environment

Goal: The mission of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is to increase the sustainable use and conservation of native wildflowers, plants, and landscapes.

An Effective Practice meets the following HCI criteria:

  1. The program description includes at a minimum: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program implementation steps, and outcomes that have demonstrated program success and/or promise in achieving the program goal in one or more localities.
  2. The results from an evaluation of the program include quantitative measures of improvement in outcome of interest (i.e. increase in voter registration, not just delivery of voter registration drive) and/ or the outcome measure is increased or improved compared to the baseline measurement or the control group but the difference is not statistically significant.

A Good Idea meets the following HCI criteria:

  1. The program description includes: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program funding source, program implementation steps and outcomes.
  2. The program evaluation is limited to descriptive measure(s) of success/accomplishment (i.e., program participation rates, number of services/education sessions/radio messages provided). Note: oftentimes, the program has been newly implemented and a program evaluation has not yet been conducted. Programs that have not yet been evaluated, but which show promise in improving health or quality of life, are classified as Good Ideas until an evaluation is conducted.

An Evidence-Based Practice meets the following HCI criteria:

  1. The program description includes at a minimum: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program implementation steps, and outcomes that have demonstrated program success in achieving the program goal in one or more localities.
  2. The results from an evaluation of the program include quantitative measures showing improvement in the outcome(s) of interest after the implementation of the program (i.e. increase in smoking cessation, not just the delivery of a smoking cessation program). The outcome measure(s) is/are compared at relevant time periods before and after the intervention or program implementation. Alternatively, the evaluation study compares the outcome(s) between an intervention group and an appropriate control group.
  3. The study is of peer-review quality and presents numbers in a scientific manner; measurements of precision and reliability are included (e.g. confidence intervals, standard errors), results from statistical tests show a significant difference or change in the outcome measure(s), and relevant point estimates and p-values are presented. Note: if the results from an evaluation of a program are presented in a scientific manner and the outcome measure is improved compared to the baseline measurement or the control group but the difference is not statistically significant, the practice is classified as effective and not evidence-based.